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October 14, 2025 7 mins

The White Ferns performed well to get their tournament back on Friday night, picking up their first win of the Women's ODI World Cup against Bangladesh.

Tonight, they face another stern challenge taking on Sri Lanka at home in Colombo.

Andrew Fernando is a cricket writer for ESPN cricinfo and he caught up with D'Arcy to talk about the game coming up tonight.

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Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Sports Talk podcast with Dancy Wildegrave
from News Talks.

Speaker 2 (00:11):
Be one Day's National Women's World Cup rolls on. The
Ferns are up against Sri Lanka at it tonight. They
beat upon Bugler Dish, but they need to keep winning.
Sri Lanka in a right mess only points after a
washed out game. Cricket writer for ESPN Creek Info Andrew

(00:35):
Fernando joins us now to take a look at the
class today.

Speaker 3 (00:39):
Andrew, Hey, Darcy, that's to be with you again.

Speaker 2 (00:42):
And great to have you on again as well. Right,
we know it's monsoon season, ideal time, isn't it to
book a tournament or a game? There must be logic
behind that. Does it really matter it's booked, it's in
to be played.

Speaker 4 (00:55):
Yeah, I mean the logic behind it is that Pakistan
needed a venue outside of India and Sri Lanka was
the closest place. So they just you know, they were like,
it doesn't it doesn't matter. Over some monsoon, we'll try
and get some games. And so far they kind of managed,
they kind of muddled through. There was one game Srinka
was Australia that was fully washed out here. But the
rest of the games have kind of been you know,

(01:17):
been been played and got conclusions. So you know, so
far it's worked out. And today, you know, I'm looking
out the window. It's a little bit sunny, and I
my suspicion is that we'll get a game today as well.

Speaker 2 (01:31):
Suspicion that doesn't sound COVID and positivity.

Speaker 4 (01:38):
When you're talking about the Sri Lankan whether you can
never be too sure about anything, you know, Like I
know in Auckland it's sometimes it's four seasons one day,
but like we can literally have fourth th understorms in
one day and still have like five hours of sunshine.

Speaker 3 (01:52):
It's just that kind of place.

Speaker 2 (01:54):
Does it How quick does it drain at Colombo? So
if there is a situation where it does stop because
he's a passing shower, does it take long to get
back up and running again.

Speaker 3 (02:04):
No.

Speaker 4 (02:04):
Actually, what they do here is they cover the whole ground.
So they're very good at getting the entire playing surface covered.
And that means that you know, the drainage, the drainage
is decent, but it almost doesn't come into play because
the water just falls on the covers and then they
just take the whip the covers off and then it's
pretty dry underneath usually and yeah it's a very quick restart.

(02:26):
So because of these kind of monsoonal thundershower conditions, Sri
lank has an entirely different system of covering grounds, which
is actually, you know, work extremely well. I would say
the one thing that Sri Lunkan cricket has got right
for about the last fifteen years.

Speaker 2 (02:40):
Wait, well, it's hope for your sake, the Sri Lunkan's
sake anyway, that they can actually get their game right,
because the start for this tournament is well, they've got
a point for a washed out game. New Zealand's not
that much better. But are there any areas that trunk
can actually dramatically improve and to secure a victory here?

Speaker 4 (02:58):
I mean, they're really it's really their batting that keeps
letting them down. They've got one super star plan and
chumming out about the who they are very very reliant on.

Speaker 3 (03:09):
She's the opener. Last time in New Zealand where he is.

Speaker 4 (03:12):
Sri Lanka actually won three match bilateral series two to one.
But in both those matches, Athapata scored like spectacular hundreds,
like one hundred and forty off eighty balls kind of
thing was one of the innings, and it took those
kinds of innings to kind of really take the game
away from New Zealand.

Speaker 3 (03:28):
The problem for Sri Lanka is that.

Speaker 4 (03:29):
While there are a few other batters who are kind
of who are okay, they're developing, they're kind of young,
they're coming along, they're just they're not contributing to a
to kind of a consistent batting order yet. And really,
if Athapatu has a good game, then Sri Lanka, Sri
Lanka's kind of batting order tends to have a good
game because they're they're good at batting around her.

Speaker 3 (03:49):
But if she's you know.

Speaker 4 (03:51):
If she has a low score, then they do tend
to most of the time struggle pretty hard. So yeah,
I think as usual with Sri Lanka, with the Sri
Lanka team, it's it's just about getting it's just about
you know, Chamriatapatu and that her.

Speaker 3 (04:05):
Be her wickets. You absolutely crucial, right.

Speaker 2 (04:07):
So you win the toss, you put them into bet
she's the cat and she's opening, so you could basically
finish the game in the first couple of overs. If
it doesn't, you can set her up right, because hit
the whole team up. She is actually the most powerful
member there. And is there a vulnerability in a game?
Is there an area she doesn't like playing? Is there
a delivery she hates?

Speaker 3 (04:26):
Edny make the most of it.

Speaker 4 (04:28):
She doesn't love fingerspin off spin in particular.

Speaker 3 (04:33):
But in the last match she was also she was
also bowled by.

Speaker 4 (04:37):
Sophie eckleson a left arm spin, although you know eccleston,
the world's number one baller, was going through one of
her best spells ever so, But yeah, maybe a little
bit of a weakness of fingerspin, especially early on in
her innings. But otherwise, you know, she's pretty solid. You know,
she's got I think nine hundreds and some of them
have been truly out. You know, if she gets going,
if she bats twenty overs, she will hurt New Zealand.

Speaker 2 (05:00):
Yes, it's just vulnerable to a left arm finger spinner.
But what a better left arm a full stop because
pretty thin on the ground on women's cricket, aren't They
don't see a lot of left armers. I know we've
got brit Iling on our side. Is a left arm
seema very difficult to play? Could you apply the same thing.

Speaker 3 (05:16):
Here, not so much.

Speaker 4 (05:18):
I think she's definitely better against seam bowling, and I
don't think it's a left arm angle really that's causing
problem for her. It's just the turn off the pitch
and she's just not as comfortable playing spin.

Speaker 3 (05:30):
New Zealand have got a.

Speaker 4 (05:31):
Few, you know, weapons, So I think America has been
having a good series, a good Tournament's got five wickets
so far, but Columbo is the kind of track on
which you need some spinners to stand up. So Milika's
got some wickets, but generally it's been the seam as
Jessica and Leota who in the last.

Speaker 3 (05:49):
Game who did the damage.

Speaker 4 (05:52):
New Zealand probably a little bit more from the likes
of Eden Carson and the other spinners around Milka in
this particular match, because this is one of the kind
of great spin bowling venues in terms of limited overs,
so usually it's spin that decides here.

Speaker 2 (06:07):
How do you slow down or stop rah runawaa. She's
been gone pretty well so far in the limits of
time you've had out there is there a heel there
that you can.

Speaker 4 (06:15):
Expose She she seems to be bowling some She kind
of bowls in patches she has. She bowls some grade over.
So there was over against India where she got three wickets.
She boiled beautiful over against England where she got a
couple of wickets. She's the kind of bowler who needs
to settle into a spell, so generally kind of like

(06:38):
third or fourth over of a spell, she's really right
on top, but her first over can be a little
bit shaky. So maybe that's an area that that New
Zealand are looking to target. I know that I'm sure
that they will have done a lot of homework and
kind of analysis because there are quite a few vulnerabilities
in the Sri Lankan you know, team that can be exposed.

Speaker 1 (07:00):
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